Abdul Muqtadir, Graduate, Jamia Ahmadiyya Canada
Countless prophecies were made by our beloved master, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, concerning the coming of the Promised Messiahas within his ummah. In his blessed words, he outlined distinct signs to help believers recognise the Promised Messiahas, encouraging them to embrace his mission and become his supporters. Among these prominent signs is the extraordinary abundance of wealth, which the Holy Prophetsa illustrated in this manner:
وَيَفِيضَ الْمَالُ حَتَّى لاَ يَقْبَلَهُ أَحَدٌ
“Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab ahadith al-anbiya, Bab nuzul Isa ibn Maryam alaihima al-salam, Hadith 3448)
Our non-Ahmadi brothers interpret this hadith literally, believing that Jesusas, son of Mary, will distribute material wealth. If this hadith did not contradict the Quran, other ahadith, and human nature, we would also accept its literal meaning. Therefore, the metaphorical interpretation of this hadith suggests that “wealth” here refers to spiritual knowledge and truths. This is exactly what the Promised Messiahas claimed:
وہ خزائن جو ہزاروں سال سے مدفون تھے
اب مَیں دیتا ہوں اگر کوئی ملے اُمیدوار
“The treasures that lay buried for thousands of years, today I give them away if I find anyone who seeks them” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V, p. 209)
Another possible meaning, closer to the literal interpretation, is that the Promised Messiahas issued prize-based challenges to his opponents. He declared that if they had any arguments against him, they should present them to claim the reward. To this day, no one has succeeded in responding to this challenge, which remains open. Opponents, who often rely on misinformation, are invited to present their proofs and claim the prize.
In this article, I will discuss the reward-based challenges issued by the Promised Messiahas. Initially, he challenged the opponents of Islam with extraordinary courage and steadfastness. Later, as opposition from Muslims intensified, he also faced them in intellectual arenas.
From 1878 to 1908, over the span of 30 years, he continually presented both spiritual and material wealth through these challenges, offering prizes totalling a hundred thousand rupees. Below is an outline of these enduring challenges, categorised by theme.
The superiority of the Quran: The 10,000 rupee challenge
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas saw Muslims drifting away from Islam and losing their faith by joining other religions; he saw scholars failing to provide satisfactory answers to their objections and Muslims facing repeated defeats in debates with Christians. He thus decided, in accordance with Allah’s will, to prove the truth of the Holy Quran and its superiority over all other revealed scriptures. He chose to write the book Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and offered a prize of ten thousand rupees to challenge the followers of all religions.
He wrote:
“I, the author of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, publish this announcement on my own behalf, offering a reward of 10,000 rupees. It is addressed as a challenge and as the completion of proof against all the elders of various religions and creeds who do not believe in the truth of the Holy Quran and the Prophethood of Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa [the Chosen One], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
“I hereby make a legal and binding declaration and a pledge warranted by the shariah, inviting anyone from among the disbelievers to prove, on the basis of arguments derived from his own Revealed Book, that it is equal in status to the Holy Quran in respect of all the arguments that we have produced from our Holy Book in support of its own truth and the truth of the Prophethood of Hadrat Khatamul Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; or, if he cannot advance arguments equal in number to our arguments, he can produce from his own scripture at least half of them, or one-third of them, or one-fourth of them, or one-fifth of them.
“Or, if he is totally incapable of doing any of this, he can at least refute my arguments one by one. In either case, I, the publisher of this announcement, shall, without resorting to any kind of excuse, give to the one who duly responds to this challenge the possession and the right to make use of my property worth ten thousand rupees […].” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part I, pp. 47-49)
The superiority of Surah al-Fatihah: A reward of 500 rupees or more
The Promised Messiahas authored a book in which he extended a challenge to all priests, offering a reward beginning at 500 rupees, and even higher upon request. He wrote:
“How can the Torah and the Gospel be compared to the Holy Quran! Even if we were to spend all our lives comparing the Book of Moses or Jesus’ Gospels with only the first Chapter of the Holy Quran, Surah Al-Fatihah, which comprises only seven verses we would not find in those scriptures the same religious truths, verities, and spiritual treasures, in the same perfect sequence, composition and inherent order as we do in Surah Fatihah.
“This is no idle claim because the Torah and the Gospel cannot equal the wisdom contained in Surah Al–Fatihah alone. But how can we bring this matter to a conclusion if Christian clergymen do not agree to any of our suggestions? If they really believe that the Torah or the Gospels contain wisdom and truth, and manifest the excellences of the Divine Word in the most perfect way, I am ready to offer them a reward of five hundred rupees in cash if they can produce from their voluminous books, which are about seventy in number, the same truths and verities of the Law, the well-organized and well-arranged pearls of wisdom and knowledge, and excellences of the Divine Word, which we present from Surah Al-Fatihah. And if this reward is not enough, I am willing to increase it as much as possible on their request.” (Four Questions by Mr. Sirajuddin, a Christian, and their Answers, pp. 38-39)
The death of Jesusas: Multiple rewards
When the Promised Messiahas openly declared the death of Jesus, the Muslim scholars stood against him and began to vehemently oppose him. In response, he announced rewards for anyone who could prove that Jesus was still alive and had not died. I present three examples here.
i) 1,000 rupees
The Promised Messiahas announced:
“Those who believe that Jesusas ascended to the heavens in his physical body and will descend with the same physical body are greatly mistaken. Remember, this belief is entirely fabricated, and there is no trace of it in the ahadith. If any hadith of the Messengersa of Allah proves that Jesusas ascended to the heavens in his physical body and will descend at some point in the same physical body – that is, if both ascending and descending with the physical body are proven from any Hadith – then I swear by Allah that I will reward the one who presents such an authentic hadith with a thousand rupees.” (Majmu‘ah-e-Ishtiharat, 2019, Vol. 3, p. 82, footnote)
ii) 20,000 rupees
Huzooras also explains that those who adopt this belief have directly opposed the Quran in four ways. And if asked for proof that Jesusas ascended to heaven with his physical body, neither can they present any Quranic verse nor can any hadith in favour of this claim. They merely deceive the common folk by adding the term “heaven” alongside the word “nuzool” [descent].
However, it is important to note that the term “as-samaa” (sky or heaven) is not found in any continuous chain of narrations (muttasil hadith), and the term “descent” is used in Arabic parlance for travellers, referring to their arrival, while the term “nazeel” is for a traveller. The same expression is also used in the Indian subcontinent when, as a matter of courtesy, one is inquired about the arrival of someone in a city by asking:
آپ کہاں اترتے ہیں؟
Which translates to “Where do you descend?” In this colloquial exchange, no one assumes that the person descended from the sky. If one searches the hadith collections of all Islamic sects, one will not find a single authentic hadith (or even a fabricated hadith) stating that Jesusas ascended to heaven with his physical body and will return to earth at some point with his physical body. If anyone can present such a hadith, the Promised Messiahas claimed he would be willing to reward them up to 20,000 rupees, along with his repentance and the burning of all of his books. (Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 13, pp. 225-226)
iii) 1,000 rupees
After the Promised Messiahas issued open challenges to present any Quranic verse or hadith (whether authentic or weak) to prove the continued life of Jesusas, no Muslim scholar was able to provide any such evidence, even with a weak chain of narrations. Instead, they began to argue over certain Arabic words used in the Quranic verses that the Promised Messiahas presented to prove the death of Jesusas. This behaviour clearly proves that when someone has nothing to present, they resort to disputing what has already been presented, which is a clear sign of either ignorance or dishonesty.
One of the many verses referenced is from the third chapter of the Quran, Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, as follows:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُل
“And Muhammad is only a Messenger. Verily, [all] Messengers have passed away before him.” (Ch.3: V.145)
As previously mentioned, rather than presenting any evidence to support their stance, Muslim scholars began disputing the word “khalat” in the verse above, which is translated here as “passed away.” In response, the Promised Messiahas not only clarified the meaning of this word but also issued an open challenge in his own words as follows:
“I am prepared to give you a reward of 1,000 rupees if you can prove through any Quranic verse or any hadith, strong or weak, fabricated or genuine, or any statement of the companions or any other Imam, the sermons of jahiliyyah [period of ignorance], the collections of poesy, or any kind of poetry or prose by eloquent Islamic writers, that the meaning of “khalat” also encompass the concept that someone with a physical body ascends to heaven.
“In the Quran, Allah the Almighty initially mentions “khalat” and then, according to the principles of eloquence and interpretation, expresses in such a way that only dying or being killed is stated. Is this not a decisive argument for the believer that there are only two meanings of “khalat” in this context, namely dying or being killed? After Allah’s testimony, who else’s testimony is needed?
“Praise be to Allah, then to Allah again, for in such a situation, Allah the Almighty has provided testimony for my truth and has stated that the meaning of “khalat” is death or being killed.” (Tohfa-e-Ghaznawiyyah, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 15, p. 576)
Among these verses, two other verses cited by the Promised Messiahas to prove the death of Jesusas is as follows.
يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَ رَافِعُكَ إِلَى
“O Jesus, I will cause thee to die a [natural death] and will exalt thee to Myself.” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.56)
فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمُ
“But since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou hast been the Watcher over them;” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ch.5: V.118)
He clarified that “tawaffa” means “death” and issued numerous challenges in his writings, inviting anyone to prove otherwise. Here, I will present just one of these challenges.
The Promised Messiahas mentions :
“Since the time the Arabian Peninsula was inhabited and the Arabic language was established, there has been no ancient or recent saying proving that the word “tawaffa” was ever used in relation to seizing the body. Rather, wherever the word “tawaffa” has been used as an action of God in relation to a human, it only conveys the meaning of death or seizing the soul, not of seizing the body. No lexicon contradicts this, nor does any example or saying from native speakers of Arabic go against it.
“In short, there is not the slightest possibility of an opposing interpretation. If anyone can provide evidence from the Holy Quran, hadith of the Holy Prophetsa, or any ancient or modern Arabic poetry, prose, or other composition that the word “tawaffa”, when used as an action of God in relation to a being with a soul, has ever been applied in any meaning other than seizing the soul or causing death, i.e., if it has ever been used in the sense of seizing the body. Then, I solemnly swear by Allah, the Exalted, that I will sell a part of my property and give a thousand rupees in cash to such a person, and I will acknowledge their exceptional knowledge of Hadith and the Quran.” (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, p. 603)
The superiority of Arabic: A 5,000 rupee reward
In his book Minan-ur-Rahman, the Promised Messiahas elaborates on the unique elegance and beauty of the Arabic language, emphasizing its status as the most refined language and the “mother of all tongues.” After providing detailed explanations to support this claim, he issued two notable challenges – one to demonstrate the superiority of Arabic over Sanskrit, and the second to prove Arabic’s excellence above all other languages in existence.
He writes:
“[…] now, for conclusively discharging the burden of proof, I offer such a method of resolving this matter which nobody can elude; being that if I am proven false in the claim that Arabic uniquely possesses those five qualities which I have written about, and if a scholar of Sanskrit, or anyone else, can successfully prove that their language too equally partakes, alongside Arabic, in these qualities, or is superior to it, then I make a definitive and decisive promise to immediately pay a sum of 5,000 rupees to such a person.
“Let it be remembered that our promise of a reward is not similar to the boastful advertisements of ordinary people, so let not anyone think that this is just a verbal ploy and that no one shall pay and no one shall receive, rather I announce that such a person may satisfy himself about this in every way he so pleases; if he desires, this money can be deposited in a government bank or, if he so desires, it can be deposited with an Arya notable.
“If I fail to deposit this money in a manner requested by a contender, and if I fail to deposit it within one month after the publication of his request, and my receiving the request through registered post, then I will undoubtedly be deemed to be a false pretender and boastful, and my entire endeavour will fall from the level of credibility.” (Favours of the Gracious God, pp. 21-22)
The above-mentioned are just a few of the challenges presented by the Promised Messiahas. In addition, there are many other challenges, such as writing rebuttals to books or engaging in linguistic debates in Arabic, among others. However, for the sake of brevity, I conclude here.
May Allah grant the entire world the ability to recognise and accept the Imam of the time, and may He grant us the courage and ability to present the message of truth to the world in the best possible manner. Amin!